System and method for selecting network ingress and egress

Abstract

A system and method for selecting communications routing. Network performance information is gathered from a communications network using performance information packet data packets. A network connection including an ingress packet path and an egress packet path offering the best quality of service is selected between the communications network and an outside network based on the network performance information. The network connection is established between the communications network and the outside network for routing communications.

What is claimed: 
     
       1. A method for selecting communications routing comprising:
 gathering, by an outside network, network performance information from a communications network using performance information packet (PIP) data packets, wherein the communications network is configured with permissions to allow the outside network to obtain network performance information from within the communications network, wherein the permissions includes limitations on types of network performance information that the outside network is able to obtain; 
 selecting a network connection including an ingress packet path and an egress packet path offering the best quality of service between the communications network and an outside network based on the network performance information, wherein selecting the network connection includes determining, using the network performance information, whether a connection path is used primarily by the outside network to route communications between the outside network and the communications network, and responsive to a determination that the connection path is used primarily by the outside network to route communications between the outside network and the communications network, configuring network permissions to enable the outside network to modify operations affecting at least one node segments along the connection path to establish the best quality of service between the communications network and the outside network; and 
 establishing the network connection between the communications network and the outside network for routing communications. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the outside network is either of a publicly switched telephone network or a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the network performance information for each of one or more network entities is attached to an end of a performance information payload of the PIP data packets. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the selecting further comprises:
 selecting the network connection from a plurality of egress packet paths and a plurality of ingress packet paths. 
 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the selecting further comprises:
 choosing the network connection from a plurality of network connections, wherein the network connection least negatively affects the performance of the remainder of the communications network. 
 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the selecting further comprises:
 avoiding network devices that are experiencing problems to establish the network connection. 
 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the network devices are any of a gateway, access point, connection admission control engine, server, and network-to-network interface. 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the network performance information includes historical information for the communications network. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the selecting:
 rating a plurality of network connections to establish the network connection with the best quality of service. 
 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the rating is performed for one or more network entities based on any of latency, jitter, packet loss, percentage of real-time traffic, and real-time bandwidth. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the rating is performed based on weighted ratings for the plurality of network connections. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 switching from the network connection to a second network connection in response to determining the second network connection provides the best quality of service. 
 
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 sending a performance information packet (PIP) data packet to an application causing network performance issues, wherein the PIP data packet corrects the network performance issues. 
 
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 compiling network performance information for a plurality of communicating networks; and 
 sharing the network performance information among the plurality of communicating networks. 
 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the network performance information is received in real-time. 
     
     
       16. A communication system for selecting network egress comprising:
 a processor configured to execute a set of instructions; 
 a memory configured to store the set of instructions, wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor causes the communication system to:
 gather network performance information from one or more communications networks using PIP data packets, wherein the one or more communications networks are configured with permissions to allow the communication system to obtain network performance information from within the one or more communications networks, wherein the permissions includes limitations on types of network performance information that the communication system is able to obtain; 
 select a network connection including an ingress packet path and an egress packet path offering the best quality of service between a communications network and an outside network based on the network performance information, wherein selecting the network connection includes determining, using the network performance information, whether a connection path is used primarily by the outside network to route communications between the outside network and the communications network, and responsive to a determination that the connection path is used primarily by the outside network to route communications between the outside network and the communications network, configuring network permissions to enable the outside network to modify operations affecting at least one node segments along the connection path to establish the best quality of service between the communications network and the outside network; and 
 route communications from a customer access point to the outside network through the network connection. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The communications system according to  claim 16 , wherein the PIP data packet includes a command for configuring a network element in the communications network to improve the quality of service, and wherein the network performance information for each of one or more network entities is attached to an end of a performance information payload of the PIP data packets. 
     
     
       18. The communications system according to  claim 16 , wherein the network performance information for the one or more communications networks is stored in a central resources for access by the one or more communications networks, and wherein historical performance information is utilized to select the network connection. 
     
     
       19. The communications system according to  claim 16 , wherein the communications network is a VoIP network and the outside network is a publicly switched telephone network.